A young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.
Cast:
- Prince as The Kid
- Apollonia Kotero as Apollonia
- Morris E. Day as Morris
- Olga Karlatos as Mother
- Clarence Williams III as Father, a.k.a. “Francis L.”
- Jerome Benton as Jerome
- Billy Sparks as Billy
- Jill Jones as Jill
- Dez Dickerson as Dez
- Wendy Melvoin as Wendy
- Lisa Coleman as Lisa
- The Revolution as themselves
1984 viewing
Prince was forbidden in my house. One of my sisters had the Purple Rain album for a little while. Then she left it out one day, my mom found it, broke it and threw it in the trash.
That happened to a lot of albums in my house. You either hid them, or they would get thrown out. I didn’t buy a lot of albums for that reason. I had my comic books and Dungeons & Dragons books confiscated.
I did however watch this movie at my cousins house. She was a huge Prince fan. We were at my Aunt and Uncle’s house for Thanksgiving and my cousin had the movie. While the adults were upstairs, us kids were in the basement watching Purple Rain.
I liked the movie back then. Even though we weren’t supposed to listen to Prince, we did. He was hard to avoid with massive radio play and MTV. It was a good movie filled with all his hit songs.
I’m going out on a limb and saying Purple Rain is still a great movie forty years later. Let’s see…
40th Anniversary Re-watch
It might be better than I remember. Purple Rain is still a fantastic movie. Watching this movie again brought me back to Thanksgiving Day in the basement with my sister and cousins.
Prince plays The Kid, a musician trying to make it big and deal with his troubled life at home. The Kid and his band, The Revolution have a spot as one of three house bands at the First Avenue nightclub.
The Revolution is in turmoil as the band members, mainly Wendy and Lisa, think The Kid disregards their contribution since he won’t play any of their songs.
Morris Day and the Time are one of the other house bands and Day tries to steal the spotlight from The Kid. Day targets Apollonia, The Kid’s girlfriend and puts her in a girl band called Apollonia 6.
The Kid’s troubles at home intensify as his father is repeatedly beating his mother until the father shoots himself. The tragedy changes the Kid and the next night he plays a song he wrote set to Wendy and Lisa’s music, the song is “Purple Rain.”
It would be easy to say this is a movie to promote Prince’s music, which to some extent it is, but it is much more. The music isn’t forced into the movie, it fits seamlessly. The song “Darling Nikki” hits differently when it’s put into the context of the movie and The Kid’s personal life. It’s also the song that prompted Tipper Gore to start her campaign against the music industry.
The acting is great in the movie too. Prince required the musicians to take acting classes before filming began. It seemed to pay off. Apollonia is great in the movie, Morris Day, the members of The Revolution, all do a great job. Prince’s father, Clarence Williams III, is a seasoned actor and shined in Purple Rain.
Purple Rain is Prince’s first movie. He told his manager at the time he wouldn’t re-sign unless he starred in a movie. The director from Reckless, James Foley was offered the film, he refused and suggested his editor Albert Magnoli.
Favorite Line:
Your lips would make a lollipop too happy.
For a debut film, Prince did a fantastic job. He’s funny, dramatic and believable. When his father shoots himself you can see and feel the pain he is feeling.
Then there’s the soundtrack. This is arguably the best soundtrack of 1984. There’s maybe one more in contention but can anything beat Purple Rain the album? I doubt it. We’ll tackle that question later in the series.
Purple Rain was the sixth album from Prince and was released on 25 June 1984, one month before the movie. It was an instant hit. Purple Rain spent 24 consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 charts. I don’t think there is a bad song on the album.
The album Purple Rain won two Grammy Awards for Best Album of Original Score and Best Performance by a Duo or Group. Purple Rain the movie wan an Oscar for Best Original Score.
While I never owned the album, my wife did. The original album from 1984 is down in our basement with all the other great albums she bought. I’m glad she kept them over the years.
If you’ve never seen Purple Rain, go watch it. It’s a fantastic movie, a great look at the 80s rock scene and one of the best soundtracks you’ll ever hear.
Purple Rain hit theaters on 27 July 1984. It earned over $70 million on a $7.2 million budget making it the 11th highest grossing movie of 1984.
Did you watch Purple Rain? If so let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on X(Twitter). The main Geekster channel is @TRNSocial and I’m @MileHighSamurai You can also find me on Bluesky @MileHighSamurai
9/10 stars
Be the first to comment